Eating over break

I see a startling trend here: I'm eating vegetable soups only to chase it with sugar-chocolate laden baked doughy things.

I was put in charge of family Christmas dinner this year with only one order: lots of vegetables.  So I did some cookbook reading and came up with:

1) Yellow split pea soup with sprouts (from the ever so reliable Sprouted Kitchen)
2) Roasted acorn squash with a thai curry glaze, filled with an arugula/quinoa/feta salad (not pictured)
3) Chocolate chip scones

Surprisingly the scones were both easy and fun to make.  They key was to use pastry flour which has a low protein content, along with being mindful to not overwork the dough.  The crumb content was beautiful once baked. 

The last two pictures are of a (3)Red Indian Carrot Soup I made from the cookbook I managed to smuggle among in my carry on suitcase (yes, I read cookbooks as novels).  It was surprisingly not too carroty.  The last, just happens to be the best (4) chocolate chip cookie ever to exist.  I used the best bittersweet chocolate I could get my hands on and let the dough refrigerate for 24 hours which gave me it a more complex toffee flavor.  I will never try another chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

'Tis the season

Every year, I seem to think its a good idea to make some of my Christmas packaging.  Only to stress myself out a few days before Christmas.  However, this year I think I hit the head on the nail with both creative but non- fussy: watercolors. 

Sprouted Kitchen's Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies + Smitten Kitchen's Brownie Roll Out Cookies

Remember how last year I posted that I'm not a very good baker/don't bake well?  A year later, I LOL to that statement as that is all I seem to do lately.  This year, I started a new tradition of getting together with friends/family (this year it was a coworker) and baking several different holiday themed cookies.  T'was a lot of fun- and a holiday tradition that felt worthwhile. 

4th of July Weekend

For the 4th of July, I drove up to Hudsonville to spend the weekend with one of my best friends of all time- Michelle.  The first day we went to Grand Haven beach, watch some fireworks in West Olive, and ate some amazing pizza in Holland.

Driving to the beach selfies.

Red, white, and blue.

West Olive.

The next day at Michelle's house and Holland:

Mira, cutest giant fluff ball ever.

Yum :)

The small moments

I'm starting to feel a pang of sadness knowing that we will be leaving our life in Ann Arbor in a few months.  I'm not only sad to be leaving the town where I have spent the last five years (fell in love, got two degrees, got married, started adult life) but to be leaving the small moments that come along with our everyday life here in the era of early marriage.  With that being said, I'm going to try and be more intentional with documenting these elusive, ordinary but important "small moments".  Because really, when we look back on life it's the momentos of the small life that truly bring us back.  And I want to be brought back, because I love nostalgia and I'm highly sentimental. 

I love this gate.  Love everything about it.  It's BLUEness, it's oldness, it country-ness.  I drive past it everytime on my country dirt road drives. Well one time I stopped to document it as a symbol of those drives.

This is what the gate protects. Wowzers.  It looks like a secret, magical path to some faraway land to me.

The beauty that exists in a Michigan winter.  Even if it's cold, forlorn and gray, I never want to forget it.

Valentine's Day flowers from my beloved.  He knows me so well that he knows to NOT get me roses and to put them in a mason jar.  Good work love.

Red Wings games with my friend Rachel and her husband Matt.  I met Rachel as a part of my MSW program.  Mike got free tickets to see the Wings vs. Vancouver and we couldn't invite anyone else as Matt is from Vancouver.  

These last pictures don't really relate to Ann Arbor in any specific way.  Except they've all lend so much support to me over these past few years while I've lived in Ann Arbor.  So that kind of counts right?

My three Dewitt besties at a recent girls night.

4th of July

We spent 4th of July in Milford.  Get ready for a lot of my-dog-is-cute-don't-you-agree pictures.

Patriotic puppy at the parade!

Buddy loves to swim.  He shows his loyalty big time while swimming.  Everytime he thought Mike was "drowing" in the pool, he would jump in to save him!

 

Anyone guess what kind of fireworks these were? (the ones in the above picture)

Katie's hearts.

And one last cliched sparkler picture.